We had a great 4th of July (Riverbend Rally) with friends and family.

I have to say that the carnival was way too expensive this year. My sister and Kenley rode 1 ride and it cost us $8!! What a total rip-off for only 3 minutes of fun. There were way better things to do for free! During the day and at night someone or some group was always putting on FREE entertainment.

The first night our church, River’s Edge, had a Family Fun Night with Christian entertainment. I helped out with the kids games. We had tons of fun games for kids to enjoy and each child got a bag to carry around which got filled with candy and toys at each station! Kenley enjoyed this way more than that 1 ride at the carnival. Then we had a Minute To Win It tournament for ages 13+. So much fun! I can’t wait to do it again next year, maybe I will make it farther than the first round! Then our worship team played music for the rest of the night

Forgot my camera that night but here are some pics of the rest of our fun weekend!

Kenley dancing in the park during the Community Church Service

At the Flight Breakfast (sun in our eyes)

Kenley was thoroughly enjoying her omelet

There that is better!

Daddy & Cohen

Cohen loves being with his Grandpa Steve

And he likes to chew on his hat!

Kenley really really wanted to ride on an airplane. So she got to go with Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Landon

Ready?

Off they go…………

“Did you have fun?”

My kiddos ready for the parade

Grandma made sure Kenley got LOTS of candy.

Kenley sitting with her cousins Nick & Sydney, ready for all that candy!

“Hi Guys! I love Riverbend Rally!”

“It’s MY water!”

During the parade we sat in Parker’s front yard. After it was over we just moved our chairs to their driveway where we all enjoyed a BBQ. Parker’s have celebrated the 4th this way for 25 years!! Marcus and I have gone the last 4 years….we have a ton of fun!

How do you feed this many people? (p.s. there are probably another 20+ people on the other side of that garage!)

With 1 drink table, 2 grills, 1 table for the burgers and brats

1 table for the warm side dishes and casseroles

1 table for the cold side dishes

1 table for snacks and dessert

Here are the recipes I brought

Frito Dip

Watch out this stuff is super addicting!

(I tripled this recipe so we had enough) 3 cans of mexi-corn, 1 bunch of chopped green onions, 8 oz jar of light sour cream, 3/4 cup of light mayo, 10 oz shredded mild cheddar cheese.

Mix all together and serve with Big Scoop Fritos!

Red, White, and Blue Strawberries

I washed and dried the strawberries then dipped them in melted white chocolate. Then I placed them on waxed paper and put them in the fridge until they got a little bit hard. While they were getting cold I took some sugar and put 5 or so drops of blue food coloring in it and stirred it around until it was the right color. Then I took the strawberries out of the fridge and dipped them in the blue sugar. Then back in the fridge until we were ready to start the picnic!

After eating way too much we headed down to the Riverbend to watch the fireworks. This is why we love Iowa Falls! The entire town comes out for the fireworks and everyone packs in close to the Iowa River.

Cohen wasn’t too sure about the fireworks. He wasn’t scared…he just stared with an inquisitive look the entire time. He kept looking at me like “is this really happening?”

Marcus told me he use to get depressed as a kid after Riverbend Rally was over because “everything had to go back to normal.” The carneys pack up the rides, neighbors pack up their picnics….. no more concerts, fried food, or talent shows. The petting zoo is gone and you won’t hear “BINGO” being yelled from under the tents at the town square. I guess that would be depressing for a child to have such an exciting few days and then it is all of the sudden gone.

We just hope our kids have great memories just like we did growing up!